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    South Carolina

    44,230

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    9

    Stakes

    79

    Congregations

    63 Wards
    16 Branches

    23

    FamilySearch Centers

    23

    1

    Temples

    1

    Missions

    History

    Lysander M. Davis, a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, arrived in South Carolina in 1839, just nine years after the Church was organized in New York. Expecting to find little or no acquaintance with the Church, Davis was surprised to find several people were prepared for baptism, taught by Emmanual Masters Murphy, a new convert to the Church in the area. Murphy had reportedly spoken with Church President Joseph Smith in the late 1830s, and was told to warn South Carolinians of the destruction soon to hit their state, "the wars that will shortly come to pass, beginning at the rebellion of South Carolina, which will eventually terminate in the death and misery of many souls . . . the Southern states will call on other nations, even the nation of Great Britain. . . ." This warning saw reality in 1861, when the Confederates attacked Fort Sumter, and the Civil War commenced.

    With the united efforts of Murphy and Davis, Church membership grew, but at the same time, so did opposition. Members were persecuted for their beliefs, and Davis was briefly jailed. In 1897, mobs burned one of South Carolina's first Latter-day Saint meetinghouses in Centerville. It was rebuilt and burned again in 1899. Since then, the Church has enjoyed happier times and wide acceptance. Community support was evidenced in the 1990s when Church and community members worked together to provide relief after storms ripped through the South.

    A temple in Columbia was dedicated on 16 October 1999.


    United States

    6,804,028

    Total Church Membership

    1-in-

    1681

    Stakes

    1000
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    1010101010101010

    14,614

    Congregations

    12,806 Wards
    1,808 Branches

    1,864

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,864

    82

    Temples

    1010101010101010

    110

    Missions | 6 Districts

    History

    Organization of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints occurred April 6, 1830, in Fayette, New York, with 50 people and six official members present. Ten years prior to the organization, the new Church President, Joseph Smith, received a vision and further instructions from God to restore God's Church on earth. In one year (1830-31) membership increased to more than 100.

    Kirtland, Ohio served as the organizational headquarters of the infant Church from 1831 until 1838. Membership grew from a handful of members to well over 2,000 before persecution and the financial upheaval of the times forced the Latter-day Saints to move on to western settlements in Missouri and Illinois. With the assassination of Joseph Smith in 1844 and increasing pressure on the Latter-day Saints to abandon Nauvoo, Illinois on the banks of the Mississippi, it became obvious to Church leaders that they would need to move.

    In 1846 the Saints established a refuge in what was called Winter Quarters, near present-day Omaha, Nebraska. In July of that year, the United States was involved in the Mexican-American War. While the pioneers were in Council Bluffs, Iowa, a request came from President James K. Polk for volunteers to march to Fort Leavenworth (present-day Kansas) and then to California on a one-year U.S. Army enlistment.

    About 500 men enlisted in the Mormon Battalion, and about 80 women and children traveled with them. They began their journey in the sweltering heat of Council Bluffs, Iowa, on 20 July 1846, leaving their loved ones behind. The battalion completed one of the longest infantry marches in American history — about 2,000 miles (3,220 km) through what are now seven states and into Mexico. The Mormon Battalion carved out a vital road for wagons through the American Southwest.

    In January 1847, Brigham Young received a revelation about “the Word and Will of the Lord concerning the Camp of Israel in their journeyings to the West” (now known as Doctrine and Covenants 136). When the first company of Latter-day Saint pioneers began to journey westward, they did not know their end destination. But on 24 July 1847, when the wagons rolled out of the canyon into the Salt Lake Valley, their destination became apparent. "It is enough," Church President Brigham Young said as he viewed the valley below. "This is the right place. Drive on." At least 236 pioneer companies of approximately 60,000 pioneers crossed the plains for Utah. With time, they transformed the desert valley into the bustling and prosperous Salt Lake City.

    Salt Lake City is home to the Church's worldwide headquarters. The Church has expanded throughout each of the United States. 

    Africa

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    791,837

    Members

    2,559

    Congregations

    Missions

    40Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    421

    Temples

    6Temples

    Asia

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    1,281,560

    Members

    2,103

    Congregations

    Missions

    45Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    368

    Temples

    8Temples

    Europe

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    503,692

    Members

    1,318

    Congregations

    Missions

    36Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    660

    Temples

    14Temples

    North America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    9,551,107

    Members

    18,426

    Congregations

    Missions

    175Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    2,819

    Temples

    113Temples

    Oceania (Pacific)

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    591,950

    Members

    1,308

    Congregations

    Missions

    18Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    317

    Temples

    11Temples

    South America

    Total Church Membership

    Members
    Congregations

    4,269,273

    Members

    5,616

    Congregations

    Missions

    97Missions

    FamilySearch Centers

    1,119

    Temples

    24Temples